SKEPTIC’S GUIDE TO INVESTING
Straight Talk for All, Nonsense for None
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Your Hosts - Meet Steve Davenport, CFA and Clem Miller, CFA as they discus the latest in news, markets and investments. They each bring over 25 years in the investment industry to their discussions. Steve brings a domestic stock and quantitative emphasis, Clem has a more fundamental and international perspective. They hope to bring experience, honesty and humility to these podcasts. There are a lot of acronyms and financial terms which confuse more than they help. There are many entertainers versus analysts promoting get rich quick ideas. Let’s cut through the nonsense with straight talk!
Disclaimer - These podcasts are not intended as investment advice. Individuals please consult your own investment, tax and legal advisors. They provide these insights for educational purposes only.
SKEPTIC’S GUIDE TO INVESTING
Icebergs, Puffins, and Investment Wisdom
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Clem Miller recounts his month-long journey through Eastern Canada, sharing observations about icebergs, puffins, and whales along with insights into Canadian economics and culture with relevance for investors. His adventures to Newfoundland and Labrador reveal how travel experiences can broaden investment perspective and inform financial decision-making.
• Planning for retirement should include time and energy for adventure, not just financial security
• Eastern Canada offers unique opportunities to see icebergs, puffins, and whales during May-June
• Vikings established North America's first European settlement in Newfoundland about 1021, or over a 1000 years ago.
• Canada shows increasing economic nationalism with emphasis on Canadian ownership
• Canadian resources (minerals, energy, lumber) present significant investment opportunities
• Well-established Canadian legal system offers strong protections for investors
• Travel experiences provide context and perspective that can improve investment decisions
• Historical connections between Canada and Europe may lead to increased economic coordination
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with friends and colleagues who might benefit from a broader investment perspective. Email or text us with questions or comments about how travel has informed your investment thinking.
Straight Talk for All - Nonsense for None
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Disclaimer - These podcasts are not intended as investment advice. Individuals please consult your own investment, tax and legal advisors. They provide these insights for educational purposes only.
Hello everyone, I'm Steve Davenport. I'm talking to you today on Skeptic's Guide to Investing and I'm here with Clem Miller and Clem just got back from almost a month trip to Canada where he was driving all the way to the easternmost point of North America and checking out where the Vikings landed and checking out puffins and checking out whales. But I think that as we go through the show and we try to look for guests and we try to look for experiences, that will help listeners. It would be great if we could transmit a little bit of knowledge about some of these countries we visit, so that you could learn more about those countries and ultimately, you might become a better investor, because you'll consider investing in some of these countries and investing in some of the values or some of the things that they do well, because ultimately, we don't know where everybody's going to find the best company and what we're trying to do is give you a broader perspective so that your investment IQ will be improved.
Speaker 1:So, clem, if we look at your trip as a journey of a lifetime you've been talking about doing it for a long time I love the fact that you did it, and you did it on your own and you just kind of said I want to do this and I'm going to go. I love that attitude one because I think that most people would say I really want to go, but I'm going to stay home. That's the 80% and the 20% of you that actually go do it. So what is it about Canada and what is it about this trip that has been on your mind for so long and what you know? What is it that pushed you over the edge?
Speaker 2:Well, you know that's interesting and interesting question, steve, and I would go back to the fact and this, I think, is relevant for our audience in a very profound sense, I think and that is, if you are interested in travel, you're interested in adventure. Then you know, make plans in your life that would allow you to have the time and the energy and the money to do that, and so that means planning for retirement, a retirement that would allow you to do that, and planning for it. You know, planning even for a retirement that's relatively early, so that you still have the energy to do these things. Or plan your career so that you know you're not a workaholic, right, and you have time to be able to do some of these things to our audience in terms of making their decisions about their careers and lives, to be able to make time for the things that they want to do, whether it's travel, slash, adventure or some other thing that our audience might want to do. So I would start off by saying that Now, with respect to this particular trip, you know I like taking trips.
Speaker 2:Since retiring, I've been on several cross-country US trips. I've been to France for a month, for five weeks, I've been to Japan for a month, and then now this trip up north into Canada, and then now this trip up north into Canada. The reason I chose eastern Canada was because I wanted to see, I wanted to go north. I like the idea of going north in the summertime and experiencing, you know, sort of different, cooler climates. So that's number one. Number two, uh, in late May and early June, when you go up to uh, to Newfoundland and Labrador, which is where I went to uh, you have uh the ability to uh experience icebergs, uh and puffins, which are cute little birds that kind of resemble penguins but with bright noses, bright beaks, and also whales, and so I saw all those things, as well as moose and caribou I saw them as well. And also Newfoundland and Labrador have interesting histories and culture.
Speaker 2:So, for example, everybody talks about Christopher Columbus discovering America. Well, even before Christopher Columbus, you had the Vikings coming over to northern Newfoundland and, of course, meeting up with the Native Americans who were there already. Of course they were there already, but the Vikings were the first Europeans that we know of who actually came to North America. They had a colony of some 60 to 100 people that they maintained for about 30 years. I found that kind of interesting.
Speaker 2:But, uh, I also went to a unesco world heritage site that was a basque whaling station and the basque would come and uh and cut up their whales on the shore and take oil and send it back to europe and they, they created a, they created a little community there that was so, uh, basque in nature that they use the same kinds of red, you know, red curved ceiling tiles that you'll see in Spain and France, and there's a whole, there's a whole slew of those things, you know, still on the beaches there. This is in red Bay, labrador, about 51st parallel. So, yeah, so it was a lot of driving and I saw a lot of things, got lots of great pictures and, and you know, it was, you know, obviously primarily a, you know, a travel adventure trip. But you know, you pick up some interesting things as you go along and you know, perhaps I can share some of those, some of those interesting economic and business and political implications.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I mean, I think it's interesting that you talk about traveling with such reverence and I know you did a lot of travel for your job and that's what I've heard from people is, if you get a chance for work to go to five places and you add a day on either end, you know what I mean. It's a great way for you to say, hey, a company is paying for me to be here.
Speaker 1:I'm going to do what I have to for my company, but I'm also going to learn what I can think about and desire out of my life after I finish work. So I think it's about you should be constantly have your head up and looking at things and saying, gee, what about this, what about this? And I think that's part of how we grow as a culture and how we grow as individuals is to look for opportunities and try to take them. I think the most important thing for people is patience and planning. If you want these things to happen, you need to start early, you need to do what you can and you can also make choices.
Speaker 1:You know you can stay in hostels. You can stay in. You know you can travel in places that are just economically a lot more. Your dollar is going to go a lot further. You're helping that country, You're helping tourism. Yeah, I think there's a lot of good reasons for travel and I believe that the more we travel, the better we become as citizens of the global economy. So can you give us, like your itinerary or just a high level of, say, your top three spots and like where you traveled from and to and you know?
Speaker 2:in Canada on this trip.
Speaker 1:Yeah, cause we were up in Seattle and one time we took a trip, a ferry, over to Bainbridge, yeah, and it's this little Island in the middle of the bay. Yeah, I've been there and the ferry cost like 350 each way and, you know, to do a tour of the bay cost 30 dollars. And so, being the, the Yankee, um consciously frugal individual, I said let's take the ferry and have lunch in Bainbridge and come back, yeah, and it was the best 350 we ever spent. And I mean, tell me about what thrilled you or what made you happiest in this.
Speaker 2:So I planned this trip purposefully for late May, early June, and the reason for that is because you have a very short period of time in that window of opportunity to see icebergs that have come down from Greenland, to see puffins who come to breed and give birth, lay their eggs in, you know, you know, along the, along the rocks, along the coasts, and also to see, uh, whales that are coming up. So the whales are, you know, we're just beginning to arrive, and the icebergs, uh, you know, I saw sort of in the middle of their peak, um, so saw lots and lots and lots of icebergs on this trip. So I wanted to see all those things and there's really only a narrow period in which to do it. And also this was a period when, when Newfoundland and Labrador were coming out of their winter season, at least it felt still felt like winter from my perspective, coming from Baltimore, maryland, but they never get like Baltimore-type weather up there. I think the warmest they get is like perhaps in the 60s or maybe early low 70s, but when I was there it was mostly in the 50s, going down into the 40s at night, and the icebergs certainly send a chill uh over the land. So those are the things I really wanted to see. I wanted to experience, uh, you know, the icebergs, the puffins, the whales, and got to see a lot of moose and also one lone caribou. So so, yeah, so a lot of things to see and also, also, um, you know, culture.
Speaker 2:Now, I knew newfoundland had a strong irish affinity. There's a lot of irish settled in newfoundland and the uh and newfoundland, uh, you know, still has the people there still speak with an Irish accent. They call it the Newfie accent, but they still speak with an Irish accent. Brogue, yeah, kind of a yeah brogue, you could say. But there's also French influences there and English influences. Interestingly enough, there's a place called Cupid's C-U-P-I-D-S which in the US, nobody knows about. Do you know about it? No, I don't.
Speaker 1:Is that where people go to get?
Speaker 2:married Cupid's, was the first English colony, first permanent English colony settlement in Canada. So it was in 1610, which is one year after Jamestown and 10 years before Plymouth Rock, which is one year after Jamestown and 10 years before Plymouth Rock. So, yeah, so they were in Newfoundland trying to settle Newfoundland. And even before that English colony, in 1610, the French were all over Newfoundland and they were not that they were settling, really colonizing, but they had, you know, they, they use the French shores around Newfoundland. In fact they were actually called the French shore and they. There was a political agreement, a treaty that allowed them to, to, to use the shores for fishing, for drying their fish, repairing nets and that kind of thing, Even after the Newfoundland became an English colony. Well, so, so yeah, Newfoundland has a very interesting history. Of course it has Native American influences as well. You know, still small Native American population in Newfoundland.
Speaker 1:I heard you became a new fee officially yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, they have this honorary, uh, new fee ceremony called the screeching, where you have to, uh, you have to chug, uh, well, not chug, but you have to take a shot of their, uh, their screech rum, which is a extremely powerful stuff but tasted very good it. It was very sweet actually. Did you screech? No, didn't screech. All right, didn't screech.
Speaker 1:Do you have that on your passport, or is there a special little star that you get?
Speaker 2:No, but anyway, so very interesting and, um, you know, just, you know a few things that you know on the more serious kind of side that I observed. So, for one thing, when clearly the Canadian government is concerned about Trump, uh, to some extent the people are people aren't willing to really talk too much about politics. I didn't invite it, I didn't like go up to people and talk to them about politics, but I only had a couple of people approach me and ask me for my opinion. But it was interesting that at the border, the border guard on the Canadian side going in asked me do you have any guns in the car? Which you know it's pretty, I think, standard question, right, do you have any guns in the car? Then they asked do you have any guns at home? And I thought that was interesting because I think what they were trying to uh get out of me was you know, are you, um, are you a Trumper who feels that Canada should be part of the U? S and uh, and so whether I have a gun at home or not may indicate to them that uh, you know that I come from a particular political uh perspective, so that's how I guessed it. But you know, then again, in Canada people do have rifles, right, hunting rifles. So it's not like hunting isn't unknown to Canadians, right? Anyway, so that was one thing I observed.
Speaker 2:As I mentioned, the people aren't, you know don't want to talk too much about politics I also observed that the roads up there are in horrible shape compared to US roads and you know, obviously they have tough winters, tougher winters than we do in the US. But I mean, these roads didn't look like they had been repaired for multiple seasons. So I have to believe that that has something to do with, you know, limited fiscal resources. So I haven't looked into the, into all the details of that, but you know, it does take money to repair roads and these roads, you know, were often in disrepair and there were many places where there were crews repairing them. But you know, the, the, the task would be overwhelming, since it was so there was so many potholes on all the roads. It just uh, just a very interesting, um, you know, interesting uh aspect, I think, to uh, to traveling into Canada, or at least into that part of Canada. So that was, that was one thing, uh, I noticed. The other thing I noticed is that is that when I went to some of the touristy locations that, like on iceberg boats, whale boats, um the unesco world heritage sites, I didn't see any real. I didn't see any americans. There were no Americans there. Really there were.
Speaker 2:I would say it was 80 to 90% Canadian from other Canadian provinces who were traveling within Canada. And I think there were, you know, some like French, from France, uk, irish, you know, but you know well, under 10%. But it was mostly other Canadians traveling to Newfoundland, people who have never been to Newfoundland who are from. You know, I met a lot of folks from Alberta, for example, and British Columbia, ontario. I remember one time on the boat, on one of the boats, the captain asked everybody on the boat. On one of the boats, the captain asked everybody on the boat how many of you are from Ontario and three quarters of the boat said they were from Ontario.
Speaker 2:So yeah, so Canadians were doing a lot of internal travel and that's because Canada perhaps not surprising has developed an increased sense of self-identity and nationalism in response to the threats from the South. An example right when you, when you go to a McDonald's and there are some McDonald's up there in Canada when you go into McDonald's they have on the screens. You know, canadian owned, all Canadian product, right? I mean it's all they emphasize that the product is from canada. They have a and w root beer, which I hadn't seen in forever down here, but they have a and w up there, lots of them, and they emphasize that it's all canadian owned.
Speaker 1:So, of course, tim hortons I was gonna ask you those donuts, pretty good.
Speaker 2:Hopefully you weren't on any kind of a diet. When you went by I didn't see any Dunkin' Donuts up there, I saw only Tim Hortons. But you know it's. So, yeah, I think, connection to Ireland and the UK and and, uh, and you know, in Quebec there is to France. So I, I see, based on that observation, uh, I see there being uh, a uh prospect for closer coordination between Canada and the EU going forward and with the UK. So I see, you know, whether it be on the political front, military front, economic front, I see, you know, canada being more integrated with Europe, okay, with the uk and with the the rest of europe.
Speaker 1:So, um, I, I've always looked at canada as really being like five countries. You know what I mean. Like you've got the quebec french part, you've got the what I'll call the maritime areas. You know I've been to pei, I've been to nova scia. I love the Bay of Fundy scallops. Yeah, I just think that that whole area has its own. You know, it's an own province and it's like completely different than Western Canada where it's about the cowboys, it's about the land, it's about the energy, and I almost think they have forged good relations with Asia, because I think that there are a lot of Chinese and other nationalities that look at it and say I can't get to America, but I might be able to get into Canada.
Speaker 2:Right, toronto and Vancouver are.
Speaker 1:Toronto and Vancouver are the kind of hotspots to. How do you get to more freedom, more nature, more of a different type of lifestyle?
Speaker 2:So that creates a connection to Asia too. I didn't see that on my particular trip Right. Yeah, ontario and British Columbia, they have their connections to Asia. I think you know, alberta.
Speaker 1:Let me just tell one story. One of the scariest things that ever happened to me was we were in our car coming down a mountain, somewhere between Montreal and Vermont I think and behind us were trucks filled with pine trees and these trucks were going down these you know hilly roads and we're just sitting there going. This guy's brakes go, we're just going to be pancake. You know what I mean. Like you could feel the like.
Speaker 1:The road wasn't very well paved and they were bouncing along on it and you're like, geez, how do we not hear about truckers going off the road with these loads? That just looked enormous. And I'm thinking, gee, I don't know, is this the same as a guy who's a trucker and he takes the milk from the hood factory to? You know, western Worcester you know what I mean Like being a trucker has very, very different definitions based on your landscape and what you're, what you're trucking.
Speaker 2:And I just thought like look at all these trees.
Speaker 1:They're cutting. But then you look around and you say look at all the trees. They have.
Speaker 2:Well, you're onto a really good point, steve, and that is that there's a ton of resources in Canada. There are in the US too, but Canada has a lot more, I think, in terms of lumber, in terms of energy resources. Well, US has a lot of energy resources, but Canada certainly does, too Mineral resources.
Speaker 1:Yeah, rare earths? Yeah, rare earths. Uranium there's a lot of mineral resources yeah, rare earths.
Speaker 2:Yeah, rare earths, uranium. There's a lot of mineral resources in Canada.
Speaker 1:Number one producer of aluminum right.
Speaker 2:Because of the. Yeah, aluminum by content value is 80% electricity. So when you have a big hydro capability, as they do in Quebec, you can make a lot of aluminum. So, yeah, there are a lot of resources in Canada, and that's from an investment perspective. I think Canada really has to be on your radar screen. As far as mineral resources are concerned, there's no question about that, and to some extent, energy resources are concerned. Um, there's no, there's no question about that and and to some extent, energy resources as well.
Speaker 1:And uh, doesn't it offer a good like. It's got a pretty good legal system. It's pretty good court system. Oh yeah, I mean, in terms of shareholder rights, we talk about China and not knowing what your rights are Canada as a as a part of the British Empire. I mean we've got to say that their legal system and court system would probably be equal to our better.
Speaker 2:Well-established common law system in Canada, just like in the UK, Australia, New Zealand. So all those countries are highly invested.
Speaker 1:If we had a choice to go north or go south, I'd be more suspect about the gangs and the violence in Mexico than I am about the. I don't know what I worry about from Canada.
Speaker 2:Well, that's the exact point. What would you worry about from Canada? That's why you would invest there.
Speaker 1:I think that I would worry that I was getting the. You know, if I'm looking for a technology company, I don't think I'd go to Canada. If I'm looking for a company that is in natural resources or basic materials or chemicals or something that involves, you know, a good deal of energy or, like you said, a good deal of resources, yes, I think I'd probably get good value from companies in Canada. But can I ask you in the last five, can you give me your three favorite moments of your trip, and then we'll end on? You know what I mean, what we think is important about travel.
Speaker 2:So I think my three favorite moments of the trip. I think that one of them was seeing my first iceberg. I thought that was, you know. After that I saw lots more icebergs, but seeing my first iceberg on the ferry from, from Nova Scotia to to Newfoundland no, sorry, my first iceberg on the on the from Newfoundland to Labrador OK, that's where I saw my first one was very exciting, and so after that I saw many, many more icebergs, took some iceberg tours. I thought that was, you know, that was a real, a real highlight to see that first iceberg.
Speaker 2:The second one was the puffins. And you know, one morning I went to see to this place in Newfoundland called Elliston, which is where there's a puffin colony, big puffin colony and I went in the afternoon and I saw a few puffins at a distance. Then the next day I went in the morning and there were millions of them and they were all like watching over their all puffing out. They were all watching over their broods and the place where people watched from was from a, was from a, uh, a rocky outcrop, uh, that faced a stack, which is where the puffins were. And when I was there in the morning there were actually puffins on the, the uh human side of the divide and uh, and that's where I got some really great uh photos and videos of uh, of puffins.
Speaker 2:I was about 10, 10, 15 feet away from, uh, you know, from the puffin family and from another random puffin. I was about 10, 10, 15 feet away from, you know, from the puffin family and from another random puffin and you know some others. So that was, that was, I think, a second highlight of the trip. A third highlight is probably being screeched in, as I mentioned earlier, being made an honorary Newfoundland citizen, although I would put that, you know, maybe third or fourth, and the other one would be the would be seeing the whale, and there's a whole story to seeing that whale which we don't have time to talk about, but it's, it was. You know I undertook a particular strategy to go see that whale.
Speaker 1:All right, that sounds good. I'm going to try to put some of the pictures into the overview for this podcast to see if I can add them. Okay, I'm not sure I can, but I'm going to.
Speaker 2:I might do a special LinkedIn post that includes some of them too. Okay, At some point.
Speaker 1:I think that you know again, this podcast is here to help listeners improve their investment IQ, and part of that is about wealth and not just about your investment portfolios, just about your investment portfolios. And it sounds like what clint did going on this trip uh, traveling up there and just doing it um, is an inspiration to a lot of people, because I think a lot of people want to travel and want to do things. And I guess I'd say what would you rate this trip? Uh one to ten in terms of travel, ten being the best, yeah, ten being the best, yeah, 10 being the best. When's the worst trip you ever went?
Speaker 2:on. I would say 10, 9, 10. Okay.
Speaker 1:That's a pretty good recommendation, so thanks everybody for listening. Please email, text us, share this with your friends, and we look forward to the next week. We're going to have two guests Rich Weiss is a head strategist at American Funds and Marcus Sturdivant is an advisor for ABC Squared here in Charlotte. So we look forward to continuing to bring new people, new ideas and better ways to help you improve your wealth management skills. Thank you, have a good day and a good weekend. Thank you everybody.
